These games as well as a handful in the next couple rounds, are available via Bleacher Report.

Here’s what happened in the 1st Round of the 2023 US Open Cup:

US Open Cup 1st Round scores

West Chester United 1-3 Ocean City Nor’easters

The visiting team from southeastern New Jersey represents USL League 2. Those Nor’easters trailed early after a 12th-minute goal from Finn Reese. However, Andres Latorre equalized six minutes later with a glorious low rebound shot.

Then, Ocean City took the lead and advanced to the second round with a thunderous header by Dylan Evande. That goal at 60 minutes, and a penalty from Andre Sabroso eight minutes later, launched Ocean City into the second round.

El Farolito 3-0 (AET) Inter San Francisco

For 90 minutes, this was an even match. That was until Herebert Soto received a straight red card in the 86th minute. The home side was down to 10 men for the rest of the 90 and the extra time period. That is when all the goals arrived for El Farolito.

Jonathan Mosquera scored the match winner in the 94th minute. Mosquera deflected a free kick. A one-goal lead became two just five minutes later, as John Quinones took advantage of a San Francisco goalkeeper error. Cesar Benitez finished the scoring in the 113th minute to seal the victory.

Appalachian FC 2-2 (3-0 after penalties) North Carolina Fusion u23

The twists and turns in this match were wild and crazy, but the new kids on the Open Cup block from the NPSL advanced on penalties after a two-goal draw through regulation and extra time.

Beaman United FC 0-3 Des Moines Menace

The amateur Iowan club continues to show why they are one of the top sides to qualify and advance out of the opening round of the US Open Cup as they defeated the amateurs from Tennessee 3-0.

Gabriel Rodriguez converted twice with a hard shot to the lower left side of the net in the 21st minute, then converted a penalty in the 58th minute for his brace. Fernando Garcia finished off the scoring inside second-half stoppage time.

Chicago House AC 1-0 Bavarian United

It was a tightly contested match that offered only one goal late in the first half when John Makowiecki headed home from point-blank range. But within the final moments of the match, in second-half stoppage time, it was Chicago House’s goalkeeper Tony Halterman who made two spectacular saves in succession to prevent an equalizer.

Manhattan SC 2-1 (AET) Motown FC

With a picturesque view of the Hudson River along the Bronx, the match was held on the campus of the College of Mount St. Vincent. Manhattan SC needed extra time to advance into the second round.

After Franco Catania scored in the 26th minute for the visiting FC Motown, the Manhattan SC’s equalizer came in the 55th minute from Bibo Hakim-Karamoko. The match winner was in the 106th minute of extra time when 18-year-old Will Loka hammered the ball home to begin the celebrations.

However, Motown FC have filed an official complaint to protest the match because they allege the game was played on a field that wasn’t in compliance with minimum dimensions per the US Open Cup rules.

Ventura County Fusion 1-4 Capo FC

After an opening goal by Ventura County’s Jerry Desdunes in the 6th minute, Capo FC exploded for four goals and took out the Fusion as they frustrated their hosts all match long.

Joshue Gallardo equalized 10 minutes later. Then Capo FC took the lead in first-half stoppage time from Sergio Vega. Parker Scaizo made it a two-goal lead in the 53rd minute, and then Hevany Ramos Mota finished the job in the 77th minute.

Hartford City FC 1-2 Lansdowne Yonkers

On a cool evening at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut, it was the first suburb north of the New York City border that was Lansdowne Yonkers that advanced into the next round of the Open Cup.

Jacksonville Armada 1-1 (9-8 after penalties) Miami United

What a fantastic match this was. Battles happened all over the pitch, as both sides scored in regulation time. Micah Thomas for Jacksonville scored in the 42nd minute, then Bautista Dominguez equalized in the 48th minute. A dramatic penalty kick shootout was next. The final round of penalty kicks came when goalkeeper Nicklas Ruhle converted the winner and stopped the last kick from Miami’s Peterson Occenat to send the home team into the second round.

The only blemish for the Armada is that their goalscorer Micah Thomas got two yellows and was then sent off. He will face a one-match suspension.

Other scores in the US Open Cup 1st round

Cleveland SC 1-0 Lionsbridge FC
Project 510 0-3 Crossfire Premier
UDA Soccer 1-0 Park City Red Wolves
Tulsa Athletic 1-0 Brazos Valley Cavalry
Club de Lyon B 0-1 Nona FC

Photo: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

That jump from MLS players going to Europe is happening with more frequency than ever before. According to AS, no league in the Americas sends more players to Europe than MLS. Moreover, a number of those are American internationals.

Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson and his brother Paxten, Matt Turner, Gabriel Slonina, Ricardo Pepi and Daryl Dike are just a taste of the USMNT members now in Europe after time in MLS.

Each season, more players throw their name into the rumor mill to join the ranks of Americans to jump from MLS clubs to Europe. Here are a few of those to watch as the 2023 MLS season rolls around.

Americans that could switch to clubs in Europe soon

1. Brandon Vazquez

Brandon Vazquez of FC Cincinnati exploded last year with 18 league goals. In all competitions, he pocketed 19. Like many of the world’s best strikers, Vazquez shines off the ball. He can find the pockets of space behind defenses to make incisive runs. Having pace like Vazquez helps in that regard.

Also, he can win aerial duels at 6’2. Upon earning his first USMNT call-up in friendly games against Serbia, Vazquez used that heading ability to put the USMNT in front.

Vazquez, who is a dual international with Mexico, has potential to move to Liga MX. He has the potential and talent to move to a club in Europe. Then, he can grow to potentially join a bigger club in Europe’s top leagues.

2. Cade Cowell

Cade Cowell of the San Jose Earthquakes is cunning and guile. While Cowell has speed, he is more well-known for his ability on the ball. At times, San Jose deploys Cowell as a false nine, someone that can hold up play but then also distribute. Yet, his most comfortably position is left wing. Body feints are enough to get past many MLS defenders on the flank, allowing Cowell to whip the ball in.

The one thing Cowell is missing in his current repertoire is output. At the age of 19, Cowell already has 80 appearances in MLS play. Yet, he only has nine goals and nine assists over those 80 appearances.

International stints already showed what Cowell is capabale of. He played a role in the CONCACAF U-20 tournament that the United States won. Cowell helped the United States qualify for the 2023 U-20 World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics with that performance. If he can add goals to his game that is already enjoyable to watch, there is no reason for clubs in Europe to avoid him. Then, those international tournaments can show what Cowell can do in pressure situations.

3. Jalen Neal

In the 2023 season, Jalen Neal will make his LA Galaxy debut. Or, at least, his MLS debut. Neal, a homegrown talent for the LA Galaxy, spent the previous season with LA Galaxy 2 in the USL Championship. He made 21 appearances for the middling side.

Despite any club struggles, Neal impressed enough to get a call-up to the national team in the January 2023 camp.

A raw talent, Neal has a reputation for being strong on the ball. Yet, he is not reckless when establishing himself as a hard-nosed defender. Few position pick up bookings as often as centerback. Neal only has five in his professional career. If he can continue to grow in confidence and ability with LA Galaxy in MLS against better clubs, he could be a sleeper choice among Americans moving to Europe.

Includes every MLS match, MLS Cup, Leagues Cup, select MLS NEXT Pro games + exclusive content

Browse Offers

4. John Tolkin

Since Tolkin came on the scene in a home league match against Orlando City in 2021, he has been the left-sided fullback that everyone in Europe will be salivating about. As is standard with the Red Bull philosphy, Tolkin’s operation is very much based around pressing. That pressing and getting forward allowed Tolkin to score some key goals. For example, his only two goals in MLS play over two seasons were both winning scores in one-goal games.

He links up well on the attack, and his run-back defense is strong. His first cap in the US January friendly against Colombia showed why he’s on the radar very soon. As a starter, he played over 70 minutes, preventing meaningful chances from Colombia. The visitors took 12 shots, but Tolkin and the other defenders only allowed one of those to be on target.

New York Red Bulls has a tendency to send Americans to clubs in Europe. Tolkin has potential to be the next name on that list.

5. Dejuan Jones

Dejuan Jones of the New England Revolution has also shown why he is a fullback capable of matching up against different forwards and wingers for these past few seasons in MLS. In 2021, he played 31 of 34 games when New England set the record for most points in a single season.

Currently, he is in Bruce Arena’s plans for the 2023 season. However, Dejuan Jones’s ability checks a number of boxes for sides in Europe. Offensive stats do not necessarily jump off the page. At 98 regular season appearances with New England, Jones has just five goals and 10 assists. Still, he is a defender. A solid build at just under six-feet tall can block out many players, particularly on the wing. Ability to turn that defense into starting offense can go a long way in fast-paced leagues in Europe.

When could these move happen?

The timetable for moves varies. The winter transfer window in Europe is over, and the MLS season starting in late February prevents those transfers. Also, the summer transfer window is in the middle of the MLS season. Therefore, any moves for these five names could occur in the middle of the season or after.

Matt Turner’s move to Arsenal finalized in February 2022. However, he departed New England in the summer. Gabriel Slonina was the opposite. Chelsea acquired the goalkeeper in the summer of 2022. However, the Blues loaned Slonina back to Chicago for the remainder of the 2022 MLS campaign. So, Slonina joined the Stamford Bridge outfit in the middle of Chelsea’s season.

PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

MLS Season Pass first impressions

When World Soccer Talk reported the end of MLS on regional sports broadcasting networks several months ago, I had to admit that I was a little skeptical about the development. I worried about the possible lack of content, and the challenge to get more people subscribing to the games. In particular, my worry was that fans would miss out on seeing their local teams via television.

However, after spending a week using MLS Season Pass, my worries are slowly disappearing. After logging in to Apple TV’s website for the first time, I was blown away by all the content provided. And that’s not just for league-wide video content but for all 29 MLS clubs.

First look at MLS game broadcasts

Before we get to the team-specific content, first let me share my thoughts on what watching games is like on MLS Season Pass. As a bonus, Apple and MLS decided to broadcast some preseason games this past weekend, and here’s what I found:

Picture quality — Superb. At 1080p, the live game I watched looked like it was in HD. The new scorebug (pictured above) is simple but effective. And the Apple TV logo in the top right corner isn’t distracting at all. With the Apple logo on the screen, it makes the broadcast look very professional.

Viewing options — I joined the broadcast of the Orlando-New England friendly a few minutes late. Instead of being automatically thrown into the live game, MLS Season Pass offers you a chance to watch the game from the start. Or you can join the live broadcast. That’s music to the ears of soccer fans.

MLS Season Pass also allows you to select the language preference for the broadcast (see above screenshot).

Local radio broadcasts — The most revolutionary aspect of MLS Season Pass is the option to hear the local radio broadcast for the call of the game. On the Orlando against New England game, I was able to toggle between the MLS announcers, or the local, home radio broadcasters. Just like Apple’s technology, it’s simple to use and it works perfectly (pictured in screenshot below).

All you have to do is to click the radio icon in the bottom right corner of the screen, and then choose what option you want.

Overall, the audio and video quality on MLS Season Pass for the first game I watched was excellent.

If all of the MLS broadcasts can be as good as this, then this is fantastic news for soccer fans.

MLS Season Pass first impressions about video content

Diving back into the pre-season MLS video content that’s available, there are excellent features included such as highlights from the 2022 season. Plus, MLS Season Pass features memorable games from league history including the Red Wedding from 2016.

Additionally, there’s the incredible comeback playoff win by San Jose Earthquakes against LA Galaxy in 2003. Of course, there’s video features about the start of the MLS dynasty involving the early years of DC United.

You learn the history of all 29 clubs as St Louis City begins its existence in 2023. Also, you get drone flybys in all 29 MLS Stadiums, in addition to features about MLS Legends, and legacies from players who have played in MLS from Tony Meola and Carlos Valderrama to Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, and iconic world soccer stars David Beckham, Juan Pablo Angel, and Thierry Henry.

Team-specific content is perfect for fans

There is so much content available on MLS Season Pass from the league, individual teams, and their social media departments. With all 29 clubs, you need several days to scan through every single piece of video to watch on your computer, laptop, or any web-enabled device.

MLS Season Pass is the type of video content that MLS fans have been begging for since they became fans. And now, the MLS and Apple partnership delivers where previous broadcasters did not.

To me, the best part of MLS Season Pass is that there are no blackouts.

It’s a new era in producing sports league content, and I haven’t been disappointed yet. To learn more about MLS Season Pass, read the MLS FAQ for answers to frequently-asked questions.

As covered, the Apple TV deal starts right away when the new season begins on Feb. 25. However, question marks still surround the talent behind the microphone calling the games on the new service. With 29 teams, there are roughly 14 games each matchday. Only a couple go to FOX, the only place left to watch MLS on TV. All of the MLS games come from Apple, and a number of American commentators have a hat in the running.

World Soccer Talk founder Christopher Harris has already shared which announcers MLS will pick, in his opinion. On the other hand, I believe those who covered MLS games for their regional broadcast networks should get selected first. They provide the colloquial knowledge MLS fans came to know and love over the years.

Here are my picks:

My list of recommended MLS announcers for Apple TV

JP Dellacamera

Dellacamera is one of the most respected voices in the game, local and national,. His expertise and experience dates back decades.

He has called indoor soccer, the MetroStars (then the name change to the New York Red Bulls), and the Philadelphia Union. After that, he became the lead play-by-play man for ESPN and FOX Soccer Channel on MLS Broadcasts. He also covered the men’s and women’s soccer games in multiple Olympics. For USMNT World Cup Qualifying, he served as the lead voice for a number of qualification processes. He sat behind the mic for CONCACAF and UEFA Champions League fixtures, too.

Our Pick: Includes: Every regular season game, MLS Cup Playoffs, Leagues Cup, & More
Sign Up

One of his most famous calls still comes from 1999. Back then, he also called the historic winning penalty kick scored by Brandi Chastain. The United States defeated China to win the 1999 Women’s World Cup on home soil.

Dellacamera won the Colin Jose Media award. In 2018, the Soccer Hall of Fame inducted him for his decades of work in the broadcast booth.

Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson is the long-time TV play-by-play voice of DC United. For over 25 years, his “IT’S IN THE NET” goal call became famous. He had witnessed many championships from the early years: four MLS Cup Championships; several US Open Cup titles and so on.

His love and passion for the game are just as strong as all of ours. During the offseason, he is the radio play-by-play voice of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and works for NBC Washington DC affiliate WRC-TV.

Glenn Davis

I remember him broadcasting soccer during the 1997 US Open Cup Championship Final in Indianapolis as defending champion DC United took on FC Dallas (then known as the Dallas Burn). He started much earlier than that when he covered the Houston Hotshots of the indoor game.

Now, his resume is full by calling the games for the Houston Dynamo, his local Soccer Matters show, and has called many CONCACAF Gold Cup and Champions League games, along with the Olympics for both the Men and Women. He has also been covering MLS games and several World Cup games on ESPN and FOX with NBC’s Olympics soccer coverage. He is a part of ESPN’s college soccer broadcasts as well.

Steve CangIAlosi

Since I cover the New York Red Bulls, I have seen Steve’s rise to become one of the best soccer broadcasters, not just in New York City, but nationally as well. He was the sideline reporter before taking over the broadcast booth when JP Dellacamera took the MLS on ESPN job. He joined Shep Messing permanently for over two decades, then worked with FOX on CONCACAF Gold Cup Coverage, ESPN on European soccer broadcasts, and the second announcing team on MLS games.

Brad Feldman

He originally called New England Revolution games on the radio in 2001 before making a move to the TV side of things as a sideline reporter, then an analyst with Adrian Healey, then took over the TV booth full-time with different regional sports networks such as FOX Sports New England, NBC Sports Boston, then local television stations. The Hanover, New Hampshire native has been a staple for soccer in the Boston area for a long time.

Eric Krakauer

I’ve known Eric for a few years since he covered the New York Red Bulls during the Jesse Marsch era. He moved to South Florida to begin his professional broadcasting career with beIN SPORTS. In 2022, it was his first and only season calling Charlotte FC games along with Lloyd Sam. While I’ll admit I have a soft spot for Eric, he would do a fantastic job calling MLS games for the league and Apple TV.

Christian Miles

He was a part of the FOX Soccer Channel days as a studio host for the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and MLS, and has called several LA Galaxy games on the radio when Joe Tutino was on television for Galaxy games. He currently calls games for the Pacific 12 Conference college sports games and has also had a spell calling Portland Timbers games on Root Sports.

Max Bretos

You know you will never miss a goal when Max Bretos belts out “YYYEEESSS!” He also began calling games on FOX Soccer Channel, locally for the LA Galaxy. He moved to ESPN as a host for ESPN FC to give Dan Thomas a break and called games on ESPN as well. Recently, he has become the TV play-by-play man for LAFC, and has worked with a record of nine to ten different analysts.

His videocast and audio podcast, The Soccer O.G., gives his opinions on the world’s games. He is also the English-language commentator during Copa Libertadores games from CONMEBOL and MMA on Combate Global.

Anthony Passarelli

For the last several seasons, Anthony was the lead play-by-play man for San Jose Earthquakes TV broadcasts on NBC Sports Bay Area/California with Chris Dangerfield and Danielle Slaton. Of course, he continued on the famous goal call for the Earthquakes “GOAL! SAN JOSE!” He also calls college sporting events during the offseason, but his upbeat tone to me will show everyone he deserves a chance to earn a spot for this job.

Mark Followill

Mark is a lover of the game. He is an MC of the Soccer Hall of Fame. Also, he is the broadcaster for FC Dallas games in Frisco, Texas. There, he worked with Dallas soccer writer Steve Davis. In each game, he shows his energy and passion by calling the local team for one of the biggest cities in all of Texas. Moreover, he called MLS games on FOX Sports along with the Copa America Centenario.

He is currently the play-by-play voice of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

Tom Gelehrter

The first time I heard Tom call a match was at the 2017 US Open Cup Semi-Finals when FC Cincinnati hosted the New York Red Bulls. His tone and energy worked very well with his analyst Kevin McCloskey during the club’s USL days (later they moved to MLS). Tom has remained with the club in their new TQL Stadium.

Jake Zivin

For the last several seasons, Jake has been the play-by-play voice of the Portland Timbers, and he occasionally called MLS games for FOX Sports. But his energy during the games has been solid. He could go further if he gets selected by MLS.

If MLS did pick international voices who have done a great job covering the league, I would select from English commentators Callum Williams, Tony Husband, Richard Fleming, and Irish-American Keith Costigan who is on FOX Sports.

But until we get the official word, those are my selections for American broadcasters for the new MLS on Apple TV deal to start the 2023 season. What say you?

Photo credit: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

As the sport of soccer grows in the United States, the domestic league and national team continue to make strides. But sadly the US Open Cup, which was showing signs of improvement and greater respect from the US soccer institutions, just went backwards two steps back. Namely, why on earth did MLS and US Soccer decide to play the fourth round of the 2014 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup during the World Cup when MLS teams enter the tournament?

On Saturday, June 14 there were four World Cup games played throughout the day from Noon to 11pm ET. On that same day, three games of the US Open Cup were scheduled with Atlanta Silverbacks hosting Real Salt Lake, Carolina Railhawks hosting Chivas-USA, and the biggest match of the round between the New York Cosmos and New York Red Bulls.

Watching Japan playing the Ivory Coast (from 9-11pm ET) while these three US Open Cup games were being played at the same time was a travesty to the World Cup and the US Open Cup itself. It’s not about Japan or the Ivory Coast not being big national teams. It’s about giving respect to the World Cup.

Just after Sporting Kansas City won the 2013 MLS Cup Championship, the league posted their 2014 regular season schedule. One of the things I like to do is to create a mock calendar for all the dates that are available for other club competitions and international calendar dates. After seeing the MLS regular season schedule, I wondered when (at the time Third Round) MLS teams were going to play the US Open Cup games.

MLS scheduled two league games on Wednesday, June 11. That date would have been the perfect time to have all or most US Open Cup matches played — before the World Cup kicked off. Instead, the US Open Cup games are all spread out, and scheduled to be played at night during the group stage of the World Cup.

I’m very disappointed that Major League Soccer forced the US Open Cup Committee to create this week of matches during the World Cup. Even though they didn’t schedule any games during the USA-Ghana match on Monday, that’s not the point.

The point is that MLS gave their clubs two weeks off during the group stage of the World Cup, with league play scheduled to resume at the end of June with the Fifth Round US Open Cup games being played then — as there would be no interference from group games after 6PM EDT. If the Fourth Round of the US Open Cup had been played on June 11, we wouldn’t have this problem.

Sadly, MLS forced US Soccer to schedule these games at the wrong time. After so many positive steps have been made in recent times regarding the US Open Cup, the latest developments are a disappointment especially since most soccer fans are focusing on the World Cup and don’t have time for the US Open Cup.

The US Open Cup deserves the respect of the soccer institutions in the United States as well as the fans and media. Having the games played during the World Cup doesn’t help anyone. Let’s hope in the future that MLS learns its lessons and tries to be smarter about scheduling dates without any interference from tournaments such as the Gold Cup, Copa America (in 2016) and FIFA World Cup 2018.

Logo

After a memorable 2012 season you would believe that 2013 will get better and so far the standards have remained the same. All professional sides from Major League Soccer, North American Soccer League and the USL Pro League will have automatic bids to enter the Cup.

The prize money though has changed to a positive level. The champions of this season’s cup tournament have been raised from $100,000 to $250,000, while the runners-up will receive $60,000 from $50,000. The lower level sides that go the furthest from each division raises to $15,000 from $10,000.

Of course the big uproar that happened last year was when the Seattle Sounders, who were suppose to travel to face the Atlanta Silverbacks of the NASL, bought the rights to play at Starfire Sports Complex. Well, the Open Cup Committee decided to leave no loophole for the 2013 tournament, and now it’s in writing.

Some other important information has come to the announcement of the 2013 format with a grand total of sixty-eight sides entering the tournament proper. The largest-ever field of professional sides will enter from Rounds 1 through 3. But the big change will be for the draw. Home teams through the entire tournament will be determined by random selection, which departs from the sealed bid process that was used in years past, and for the Semifinals and Final in 2012.

Here are the dates and descriptions of each round in the 100^th edition of the 2013 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

MLS: (16 Sides) Chicago, Chivas-USA, Colorado, Columbus, DC United, FC Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New England, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Real Salt Lake, San Jose, Seattle, Sporting Kansas City

NASL: (6 Sides) Atlanta, Carolina Railhawks, Ft. Lauderdale, Minnesota United, San Antonio, Tampa Bay Rowdies

USL Pro: (12 Sides) Charleston, Charlotte, Dayton, Harrisburg, LA Blues, Orlando City, Phoenix Wolves, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Rochester, Tampa Bay Flames, Wilmington

Amateur: 16 PDL Sides, 8 USASA Sides, 8 NPSL Sides, 1 US Club Soccer Side & 1 IS Specialty Sports Association

Play-In Round: Tuesday, May 7^th Two NPSL Sides. One faces a US Club Soccer side, while the other faces a USSSA side

Round 1 Proper: Tuesday, May 14^th 18 games with all amateur sides and four USL Pro sides in Dayton Dutch Lions, Pittsburgh Riverhounds and the two expansion sides in Phoenix & Tampa Bay Flames

Round 2 Proper: Tuesday, May 21^st 16 Games with Round 1 winners facing the NASL & the rest of the USL Pro League

Round 3 Proper: Tuesday, May 28^th 16 Games with Round 2 winners facing sixteen MLS Sides

Round 4 Proper: Wednesday, June 12^th 8 Games with Round 3 winners facing each other

Quarterfinals: Wednesday, June 26^th 4 Games with Round 4 winners facing each other

Semi-Finals: Wednesday, August 7^th or August 21^st (If an MLS side is involved with the CONCACAF Champions League on August 7^th, their semi-final match could be on the 21^st)

US Open Cup Championship Final: Tuesday, October 1^st or Wednesday, October 2nd

Olave, in an RSL shirt years ago

The major pickups for the New York Red Bulls came from the two men who played together at Real Salt Lake as they provided the offense in a wonderful first half. Both Fabien Espindola and Jamison Olave found goal, as it appeared the Red Bulls would cruise to the away three points.

The first saw Espindola receive a gift in the Timbers area, and he converted on sloppy communication in the 9^th minute. Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre made an ill-advised back pass to his keeper Donovan Ricketts. The Jamaican touched the ball with his gloves, which could have resulted in an indirect free kick. But Espindola pounced on an advantage from Ricketts’ mishandling and scored.

Espindola’s second goal of the match came in the 24^th minute as Silvestre once again made another gaffe. A badly bouncing ball caught Silvestre flat footed, and Espindola picked it up to attack the net. Coming from an angle Espindola wasted no time to bent the ball past Ricketts and inside the far post to regain the lead.

Jamison Olave would be the next to tally his first goal as a Red Bull in the 28^th minute to extend the lead to 3-1. After a corner was deflected away, Ruben Bover corralled the ball and went to the near side. Heath Pearce delivered a nice cross, and Olave was in the middle of the area and he put the Red Bulls ahead by a deuce.

But as great as it was to see the Red Bulls with a lead into the intermission, there were some major problems on the backline and sadly they all pointed to one player in Olave who was just dreadful in defending. After Espindola got the early lead he was caught ball watching five minutes later, as Argentinian midfielder Diego Valeri was allowed to juggle with the ball toward net and equalized.

Entering the second half of the match, you saw plenty of energy within the men in green as they were battling, clawing, fighting their way to try and get back into the match. Olave once again ball watched and allowed Darlington Nagbe to get into perfect position to convert a rebound to cut Portland’s deficit to one.

In the 83^rd minute it was Jamison “The Statue” Olave again who tried to cover the middle of the Red Bulls defensive area, but sadly a Jose Valencia cross pinged off his left leg and past Robles for an own goal. The Red Bulls were thankful to get out of the Rose City with a point, though it was bitter squandering two that seemed attainable at the half-hour mark.

Caleb Porter did a good job getting his side to deliver a comeback in the second half and salvage a point. For Mike Petke I believe that his in-game management needs some work. But to be honest, he didn’t do a bad job overall and we need to see more out of Petke before snap judgments ruins his first appointment.

FEUERSTEIN’S FIRE #139

MONDAY, MARCH 4TH

8PM EST – 5PM PST

GUESTS

Darius Shirzadi (Project Goal)

Jack Bell (NY Times)

Gary Richards (Former Fox Soccer Analyst)

Red Bulls Hour: Recapping the 3-3 Draw in Portland & Media day.

2012-13 CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

QUARTERFINAL 1st LEG REVIEW SHOW

FRIDAY, MARCH 8TH

8PM EST – 5PM PST

GUESTS

Warren Jones HOU

Adam Serrano LA

Dave Clark SEA

John Jagou MEX

Listen here or with the player below!

FEUERSTEIN’S FIRE #138

2013 MLS SEASON PREVIEW SHOW #3

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH

8PM EST – 5PM PST

GUESTS

CHI: Ryan Sealock (Hot Time In Old Town)

DC: Robert Hay Jr (MLS Talk DC Correspondant)

NE: Sean Donahue (New England Soccer Today)

PHI: Earl Reed (MLS Talk Philadelphia Correspondant)

Red Bulls Hour 2013 Preview

Michael Lewis (Big Apple Soccer, Tropigol)

Matthew Conroy (The Vipers Nest)

Listen here or with the player below!

But for the second season in a row the uneven Schedule has returned. Once again, the main question has always popped up, who or which conference has the advantage when it comes to this type of scheduling. Well right off the bat I would say it’s the East and here is my reason why.

Some of these stadiums are either a few blocks away or a transfer to local transit like the Metro in DC, SEPTA in Philadelphia, the PATH Train at Newark Penn Station, and so on. Trips to Columbus, Chicago, Houston & Kansas City are obviously plane trips. Don’t forget it would be via Rail in Canada between Montreal and Toronto.

But when it comes to the Western Conference you could see some form of train travel when it comes to Los Angeles, San Jose and possibly a long road trip to the Cascadian Northwest. But once again the plane rides to most of these cities or towns outside of Los Angeles and San Jose are considered to be the favorite.

But if you really believe that the traditional Schedule should be returned, then that will probably happen once that twentieth side comes around sometime down the road. Whether it be this supposed second New York City side, or down in the Southeast in Orlando, Atlanta or elsewhere is anyone’s guess.

But the one thing I felt that Major League Soccer did with the tradition schedule back in the 2011 season was absolutely absurd. Forcing a team in the east within two weeks to play away matches starting off in the Pacific Northwest for two games, then a cross country trip to the Central time zone, back east for a US Open Cup match and then back to the west coast in Silicon Valley.

That was a grand total of five games, four on the road with changing time zones within a two week period. This type of scheduling can work in the NBA or the NHL, but sadly this doesn’t work nor should it be considered ever again for an MLS side.

I understand from those who support a proper schedule from start to finish that we should get back to that, but at the moment this version will be more regional focused and I don’t mind it. But when it comes to those special match days that should be used for World Cup Qualifying and no league interference, sadly that annoyance has returned.

Since the first US Open Cup tournament in 1914 – won by the Brooklyn Field Club – 2013’s version will officially be tagged as the 100^th Edition. The tournament was dedicated to Lamar Hunt in 1999, a great man who has helped the game and was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a builder.

As I have said before during the last edition of the US Open Cup, there were so many upsets, so many situations, so many goals and cards dealt you probably lost count. It goes to show you that there are many supporters that love this Cup competition and want to see it grow in the right way.

But as we are preparing for the running of the 100^th edition of the US Open Cup, the same questions continue to pop up, and the same problems continue to show. So how can the USOC improve, and how do we find a way to sustain that improvement for the next hundred years?

Well the first suggestion would be a corporate sponsor to advertise the tournament like what Budweiser and E.ON have done for England’s FA Cup over the years. US Soccer should inquire with one of their corporate partners to sponsor the tournament or find someone new, like Amtrak, that has stations near soccer stadiums.

The next suggestion of course would be television. While we all know that Fox Soccer and their Fox Soccer Plus channels shows designated FA Cup matches to be aired on television from Round one proper all the way to the final, that necessity must happen for the US Open Cup.

At the moment only the Final has been shown (with the exception of the Seattle Sounders/Cal FC Round Four Proper match last season). While the first two rounds could be a hard sell, having MLS sides in the tournament from Round Three until the end would be a big boost. I would hope to see NBC Sports Network would make that leap, as they broadcast MLS now and the English Premiership this fall.

Currently GOL TV has the rights to broadcast the final for this season and next, but if we are going to keep making these matches during the middle of the week and on television then there should be at least two on a Tuesday and two on a Wednesday.

For the supporters who want to travel to away games and not to rush getting back to work all within a 24 hour period, all match dates must be separated. For the last two to three years, the early Rounds One through Three have been played back to back to back in the midweek. It’s time to allow some separation, and there is plenty of time to make those dates available, talking with CONCACAF on their Champions League dates.

But once again while we are hoping for more and better things to come for this tournament from US Soccer, there is another side that must continue that growth.

That falls on all of you who continue to read this site and the other sites dedicated to covering this Cup competition. All of us are in this together whether you know it or not. Show your support during these live internet streams, recap shows on the internet and make sure they know that’s it worth the time. The US Open Cup is 100 years old, and it deserves respect and attention from every corner of this great nation.

This idea for split seasons has been adopted from leagues that start in Mexico and go all the way south into the Americas. The champions of the split seasons will face each other in the Soccer Bowl Final at the end of the fall season. The spring season will run from April 6^th till the fourth of July, while the fall season begins on August 3^rd and closes on November 2^nd.

It’s time to review the sides that will start in the NASL’s very first spring season to see who will finish top of the league. Get them ready to be the first finalist of the 2013 NASL Soccer Bowl final.

TAMPA BAY ROWDIES (2012 NASL Soccer Bowl Champions): Ricky Hill gets ready for his title defense with the Rowdies as he knows it’s going to be an interesting season as they will be chased by the league instead of them chasing for the title. Luke Mulholland returns as the only player to win the first two Soccer Bowl titles with the Rowdies and Minnesota Stars.

Mike Ambersley returns to fill the net with plenty of goals with tough defender Frankie Sanfilippo and Jay Needham. Shane Hill (Coach Hill’s son) will be designated to take penalties when they are called with Andrew Fontein in goal.

At the moment the Rowdies are considered the favorites to finish the season, but could take a bump if injuries come at them hard.

MINNESOTA STARS (2012 NASL Soccer Bowl Finalists): Joy came to the fans of the Stars when they finally got a brand new owner with Local Minnesota Businessman Dr. William McGuire.

But what an amazing strike tandem they will have with bringing over Etienne Barbara who was with the Whitecaps in MLS last year and the San Antonio Scorpions forward Pablo Campos who were teammates with the Carolina Railhawks two seasons ago. Let’s also not forget about Simone Bracalello who has been a solid scorer for this side.

The midfield will be solid once again with Miguel Ibarra and veteran Aaron Pitchkolan who was also with the Scorpions from last season as well as Bryan Arguez who has come over from FC Edmonton.

Can the Stars try to knock off the Rowdies and steal that top spot away to make a return to the Soccer Bowl final? I believe they can under Manny Lagos.

SAN ANTONIO SCORPIONS: What an amazing job the Scorpions did in their inaugural season of the NASL. Tim Hankinson did a marvelous job guiding a side that was strong, competitive and never said die in all their regular season games, but fell to the Minnesota Stars in the Semi-Finals of last year’s playoffs.

They took some heavy losses especially with Pablo Campos going to Minnesota. Yet they still have Kevin Harmse and Walter Ramirez in midfield that will be strong along with Hans Denissen up top. Blake Wagner and Greg Janicki on the backline with Pat Hannigan in the net.

The main question for the Scorpions will be of a possible sophomore slump after having a fantastic first season in the league. With a brand new stadium almost completed and the first in the NASL, new pressure will be coming and hopefully for the better.

FT. LAUDERDALE STRIKERS: Historic Lockhart Stadium is getting ready for another season of Strikers soccer and they can’t wait when Daryl shore’s crew starts to get their hands dirty to improve their position and return to the Soccer Bowl final when they were last in 2011.

A pair of former Chicago Fire players will help boost the side in former Costa Rican international striker Andy Herron and Honduran Defender Ivan Guerrero who will help out on the back line. Midfielder Walter Restrepo will help out with Herron on the offensive side of the ball is in his third season with the Strikers.

Matt Glaeser is their number one keeper and will be in the net to get his side to the top half of the table.

The Strikers have finished in the middle of the pack for the last two seasons and somehow they need to find a way to get things going again. They will be competitive this spring season, but to have a good start is very vital.

CAROLINA RAILHAWKS: After a good first season as head coach Colin Clarke has a big task right now to continue that trend in the 2013 season. Running this Railhawks side that is use to success needs to get back to the top of the league.

Nicholas Addlery who was a part of Clarke’s Islanders sides has re-joined him in Cary and will be joined with Zack Schilawski up top while Ty Shipalane will bring support from the midfield. Shipalane will have Austin DaLuz in the midfield along with Nick Millington to help out. Akira Fitzgerald will be manning the net to give this side a chance to get some wins.

This team is my surprise pick to make some noise and possibly to knock off Tampa Bay or Minnesota to grab that top spot. This side could make a strong run into the US Open Cup as well.

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS: What a crazy season it was last season when the club fired their head coach and brought over Eric Wynalda as their interim head coach due to his performance with Cal FC in the US Open Cup.

After several games before returning to Los Angeles as a Fox Soccer analyst, Brian Haynes took the position and full time. While Wynalda has returned to the Silverbacks as their Technical Director I believe that this is the true start for the Silverbacks to become a better side.

Defender Mark Bloom who was signed from the USL Pro’s Charlotte Eagles will be coming home as the Marietta, Ga. Native will get a taste of second division soccer will link up with in the backline with Chris Klute, Shane Moroney and Willie Hunt. Midfield needs some work with Pablo Cruz continuing on since coming over from Cal FC and helping out Richie Menjivar who was signed from Turin FC in El Salvador. Atlanta native Jahbari Willis was signed from the reserves and could help out his side tallying some goals.

While this is a brand new start for the Silverbacks and changing their shield at the same time, improvements will come slow. If things do gel they have a shot at getting out of the bottom and possible into the middle of the pack.

FC EDMONTON: Colin Miller who was an assistant for the Vancouver Whitecaps has been named Head Coach since this past end of November of 2012. The former Rangers player will have his hands full after a poor 2012 season.

The club has already signed former Minnesota Stars midfielder Neil Hlavaty to help out Kenny Caceros, Shaun Saiko and Chris Kooy in the midfield. While in defense David Proctor, Paul Hamilton and Antonio Rago remain intact with Edson Edward Lance Laing coming over to the team.

Michael Cox and Elvir Gigolaj are the strikers currently, but I believe Edmonton will find someone in trades, or in the NASL combine.

At the moment FC Edmonton needs a good start in the spring season and solid play to get some confidence. If that happens maybe a better finish to continue into the fall season, but that would be in the middle of the pack.

And now, my predictions for the spring.

2013 SPRING SEASON FINISH

1: Minnesota

2: Tampa Bay

3: Carolina

4: San Antonio

5: Ft. Lauderdale

6: FC Edmonton

7: Atlanta

That news finally came across the wire on Sunday, as it appears Donovan will soon make his return to the playing field. He will be rejoining the Los Angeles Galaxy to train towards the end of March, a development that will no doubt ease some minds on the West Coast.

While it’s a happy day for Los Angeles soccer fans (and likely the league office), there is a bit of a problem. This “sabbatical” has encroached upon an important stretch for the U.S. National Team in two very important qualifiers. He will not be fully fit for the home game against Costa Rica or the follow-up road grudgefest at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Having a fully fit Landon Donovan would be a big help for the team against Mexico down in the Azteca – against a team that has already conceded a big point to Jamaica on February 6th.

We do remember that Donovan was subbed out before the start of the second half in the friendly victory at the Azteca last August due to injury. But while three points weren’t on the line that time, they will be on March 26th.

The second half of last season began a steady grumbling from Donovan. He emoted that he felt like he could be at the end of his career, and that he needed to take some time. Even if he simply ends his career with the National Team, I have to say that that it is a rather poor time to be calling it quits internationally. He once said he wants to play another World Cup and that chance is right there for the taking.

His change in demeanor seemed to have precipitated as soon as Jurgen Klinsmann took over the national team. He already missed the Honduras road game and will miss another two next month for this bit of a mental break. His appearances with the team have been fewer and farther between. If a person were to look at the situation with a superficial view, they might wonder if the relationship between Donovan and Klinsmann has never really been strong.

What follows from all of that might be the biggest worry for USMNT supporters: what if Landon’s retreat from the community for months pushes Klinsmann to drop him in the qualification cycle altogether – even if Donovan indicates a desire to return? Would Donovan accept a minimized role in the summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup? Or would Klinsmann effectively end Donovan’s National Team career by not using him in qualifiers and only selecting him for the meaningless tournament? In that sense I feel this type of scenario would be a major negative.

There have been many great European players, and they count the cost every time the cycle comes around. They know what is in store for them every time they play a league match for their club and a World Cup qualifier for their country. While it is very taxing on them physically and mentally, they get it done. Why Landon Donovan felt all of this weight and decided to take the break, we may not know or fully understand.

I was expecting Donovan to ride off into the sunset with his National Team career after playing an integral part in the World Cup in Brazil next year (assuming the USA qualifies). Make no mistake that I respect the career of Landon Donovan and know the type of player he is for our country. Throughout the years he played for both the original San Jose Earthquakes and the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, I detested the negative tease that was hurled at him: “Landycakes.” This man deserves our respect, and at the same time we should celebrate his accomplishments for club and country.

But to be honest I hope he hasn’t made a rash decision that could impact a Hexagonal qualifying year – especially in a transitional year when we need him the most. When the World Cup rolls around, the US’s involvement in the grand display may depend on the fallout from the decisions that have been, and will be, made. It’s alright that Donovan is anticipating the end, but if only he could hold off until after this calendar year. Or better yet, after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

2013 MLS SEASON PREVIEW SHOW #2

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH

8PM EST – 5PM PST

GUESTS

DAL: Daniel Robertson (Big D Soccer)

VAN: Peter Schaad (Radio Voice of the Whitecaps)

HOU: Warren Jones (Dynamo supporter)

MTL: Arcadio Marcuzzi (LeFooteur)

CLB: Matt Goshert & Chris LaMacchia (Massive Report Podcast)

TOR: Daniel Squizzato (Canadian Soccer News Group)

KC: Mike Kuhn (Down the Byline)

Listen here or with the player below!

2013 MLS SEASON PREVIEW SHOW #1

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH

8PM EST – 5PM PST

GUESTS

LA: Adam Serrano (LA Galaxy Insider)

SEA: Dave Clark (Sounder At Heart)

SJ: Robert Jonas (CenterLine Soccer)

RSL: Chris Enger (Soccer Newsday)

COL: Patrick Quinn (Rapids Reporter)

CHV: John Sandate (What The Flock Podcast)

POR: Steven Lenhart (5 Minutes To Kickoff)

Listen here or with the player below!

The first surprise came in two sides that recently played in the UNCAF Centroamericana tournament. Panama got off to a roaring start in the 16^th minute when Luis Henriquez got the first goal of the match, and then Roman Torres added a second in the 27^th minute. But it was Real Salt Lake’s Alvaro Saborio that pulled one back late in the first half around the 40^th minute to keep Costa Rica’s chances alive at 2-1.

It would be late in the second half as Bryan Ruiz converted the equalizer at Rommel Fernandez Stadium in the 84^th minute. Costa Rica ended up stealing a point away from Panama in surprising fashion, putting both of those teams at one point.

But the bigger surprise came in the capital city of Mexico, as the only country to represent the Caribbean earned a historic point. Lanky keeper and captain of the Reggae Boys Donovan Ricketts played one of his best matches for his National Team on Wednesday night. Every single time Mexico threatened Jamaica’s net, Ricketts stopped every challenge from Javier Hernandez and Giovanni Dos Santos (who was subbed out at the beginning of 1^st half stoppage time).

But for the Reggae Boys and Mexico, they join Costa Rica and Panama as the four sides to earn a point while Honduras leads with three. That means the US is bringing up the bottom on its own, something that should leave Jurgen Klinsmann and the team bitter and ready for March.

Honestly, these draws should take some of the nasty taste out of your mouths when the two matches in the end of March come around. But while this might or might not ease the USMNT loss down in San Pedro Sula, Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann is on notice that he needs to change his tactics and formation when they convene again in just over a month (they host Costa Rica on March 22^nd & travel down to the Azteca in Mexico City on March 26^th).

If it’s possible to grab between three and six points before the marathon in June, then we could see the USA back on track and calming everyone down for the rest of this qualifying round for Brazil. Even though the 4^th place finish against the Oceanian Qualifying winner is not the most daunting opponent, the main objective is not to be required to play two extra qualifiers in November.

Feuerstein’s Fire #135 Tuesday, February 5th 8PM EST – 5PM PST

Guests

Michael Lewis (Big Apple Soccer) & John Jagou (Big Soccer) – 2014 CONCACAF WCQ Final Round Preview

James Hope (The Crocketteers) – San Antonio Scorpions First Season in the NASL

Alfredo Centola (NYC Park Advocates) – Against the MLS Flushing Meadows Stadium Project

2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Pre & Post Game Shows Wednesday, February 6th

30 Min Pregame Show: 3:30PM EST – 12:30PM PST

60 Min Postgame Show: 6PM EST – 3PM PST

Guests

Earl Reed (MLS Talk) & Franco Panizo (MLSSoccer.com/Soccer By Ives)

Altidore, the subject of racist actions in Holland

But when an unfortunate situation comes up, you would assume it’s a nasty injury that could sideline them for a couple of months. Sadly that’s not the case when it came to Jozy Altidore in a KNVB Dutch Cup match on the road for his AZ Ailkmaar side against FC Den Bosch.

As we all know UEFA & FIFA are in a fight against supporters of certain clubs for a culture of open racism against players who are not of their supporters’ “preferred” skin color. We have seen banana’s thrown on the pitch or the vocal reaction of monkey chants from the stands. And sadly it found Altidore this time.

Even though referee Reinold Wiedemeijer decided to stop the match, a level headed Altidore and his side wanted to continue and so it did. AZ won the Quarterfinal Cup tie by a final of five goals to nil, and on that night Altidore was shown to be the better man.

A fantastic gesture was made by Den Bosch apologizing to Altidore and giving a promise that this will never happen again. They said they will find those responsible for their actions will be properly punished. But we can’t forget about what happened to Kevin “Prince” Boatang of AC Milan and how he reacted to the same treatment he received in a friendly against a lower tiered Italian club.

In my opinion both men were right on how they handled it. Maybe this is the first time we are hearing about Altidore being racially abused, but for Boateng I would have to say he has heard these chants for far too long. Maybe FIFA President Sepp Blatter doesn’t want players to march off the pitch in anger, but let’s be honest: when will FIFA truly step in and make those supporters pay for their actions?

Watching on Youtube the great Roberto Carlos who finished his playing career in Russia also was abused in a league match when supporters threw bananas on the field. The honorable Brazilian cried walking off the pitch with his shin guards in his hands. A World Cup Champion being racially abused for the color of his skin was disgusting and utterly horrendous.

But sadly the problem is assessing proper punishment to those supporters or those groups who intentionally make these stupid chants and acts, to disgrace this game we love so much. I don’t doubt that there are still racists living here in the USA, but so far we haven’t seen nor heard them in sporting venues. I would think they’d have been banned for a long time ago had it happened.

But the only time they have ever come to light was during the 70’s in Major League Baseball as “Hammering” Hank Aaron was about to break Babe Ruth’s Home Run Career Record as a member of the Atlanta Braves. When he hit the record breaker over the left-center field wall, all the citizens of Atlanta and of the United States cheered him for his feat.

It was a good showing by Altidore to rise above the hatred and the stupidity, and also admirable by Den Bosch to respond quickly to the problems at hand. But once again what will FIFA & UEFA do to truly put an end to these racists chants and actions by a bunch of knuckleheads who in my mind were sore losers being down by three goals before the half?

Feuerstein’s Fire#134

Monday, Jan 28th 8PM EST – 5PM PST

Guests

Arlo White – MLS on NBC – a look back and a look ahead to 2013

Dr. David Kilpatrick – New York Cosmos historian – the Cosmos and other memories

Steven Lenhart – Portland Timbers reporter – the Cascadia Cup Trademark mess,

Brian Keyser – Harrisburg City Islanders PA Announcer – the new USL Pro/MLS reserves partnership

RBNY News – Mike Petke coaching hire and other Red Bulls talk

Feuerstein’s Fire Special

USA v Canada Friendly Postmatch

Tuesday, January 29th 11PM EST – 8PM PST

Guests

Earl Reed – Host, MajorLeagueSoccerTalk.com Podcast

Duane Rollins – Managing Editor, Canadian Soccer News

Petke, from Metrofanatic.com

Interim Coach Mike Petke has now officially been appointed as the head coach in full of the New York Red Bulls. This news will make the supporters happy. Not because he is a former player drafted by this club, but rather that he is a local from Long Island who knows what it takes to win in the New York Tristate Area.

“Ever since I joined New York in 1998, this is the club that has always been closest to my heart,” he said. “I am thrilled to have earned this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is truly a dream come true,” Petke said. “I know there is a lot of work ahead and our challenge is not easy. However, I am excited to take hold of my new responsibility and hopeful that I can help build a hard-working team that our club’s loyal supporters can all be proud of.”

Remembering Petke’s playing career was always a special time when he came in with the blonde hair dye job and put home a few goals of his own as a center back. When MLS used a golden goal overtime period, there was a game winner he put in DC United’s net at RFK Stadium.

Or the infamous celebration after scoring against the Colorado Rapids at Giants Stadium, where he lifted his jersey to show a special message that read “Revenge Is Coming.” The reference was to the horrible incident when Mamadou Diallo stomped and kicked former keeper Mike Ammann on the ground at the former Tampa Bay Mutiny.

This man has the heart and the passion to lead this club to a potential championship if given the time to make it happen. Like Ben Olsen for DC United, Jason Kreis has for Real Salt Lake, or Jay Heaps from the New England Revolution, this is a chance for another respected former player to take his club to the top.

“Mike is very passionate about our club and has shown us that he has the leadership and organizational qualities to be our head coach,” Red Bulls sporting director Andy Roxburgh said in a statement. “He is a terrific servant for this club, from being a top player to most recently heading our reserve squad. Mike has earned this opportunity and he will have the full support of our staff to help ensure the team’s success. We believe that his experience both as a player and coach in American soccer will be a significant asset as we head into the 2013 season.”

Sadly for Petke, his first attempt to run a squad was the 2011 US Open Cup Quarterfinals at the Chicago Fire when he was given a B/C side and lost four goals to nil. It wasn’t his fault because Backe didn’t care about the Open Cup then; Backe also failed to fly with the team to play this match.

But as this hire is a good one, the problems from within at Red Bull are unfortunately still there. While I appreciate Global Director of Soccer Gerard Houllier putting in a personal interest to make this club successful, he needs to allow the men who will be in charge make these decisions on acquiring players and hiring the coach staff.

But now let Petke run the show, and let’s see him try to make magic happen for the club he was drafted from, played for and now runs as Head Coach.

Tuesday, January 22nd 8PM EST – 5PM PST

Guests: Brian Quarstad discusses his time creating and managing Inside Minnesota Soccer website

Discussing other American Soccer stories.

But the best news is that even more clubs will be entering NASL in 2014. Not only will we see another Canadian side open their doors in Ottawa, but two new US squads take the pitch in Loudon County, Virginia and Indianapolis. The latter team was spearheaded by former Chicago Fire General Manager Peter Wilt. We’d be remiss not to mention Sacramento, who will be entering USL-Pro in 2014.

We are seeing great strides in the advancement of the game and the fan culture is getting better and better as the years pass. US Soccer should be feeling good about these moments and maybe we can see more happening down the road.

The one thing that has me concerned about US Professional Club soccer relates to the tournament that will be playing in its 100^th edition this season – the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Last season we saw great changes that allowed qualifying to end in the professional levels as well as the PDL. This allowed most of the sides to automatically go in as well as finishing a season for automatic availability. In 2012, there were many upsets from Round 1 all the way to the Semi-Finals, which was a great display for this historic Cup competition.

But there is some concern that these changes might slightly go away as qualifying might return to the second and or third divisions, using regular season matches that double as US Open Cup Qualifiers. I think a new proposal should be made to expand the participants from the amateur leagues to the newer sides in the NASL & USL Pro league.

A grand total of 52 sides start in the first round from the PDL (22), NPSL (22) and USASA (8) face each other in Round 1 Proper with the winners advancing to Round 2. Most of the sides that achieved victory in Round 1 will face each other in Round 2, with the exception of the extra sides coming from the second and third divisions

Since the New York Cosmos will not participate in the US Open Cup this year as they will start in the fall season of the NASL, a pre-season tournament between them, Loudon County, VA. & Indianapolis should determine which two sides should enter Round 3 and the other in Round 2 while Sacramento and the bottom four of the 2013 standings will enter Round 2.

The rest of the NASL & USL Pro League will face Round 2 Winners, and then MLS Sides in Round 4 and the round of 16 will be added to Round 5. Then you’d see normal brackets from the Quarterfinals to the Final. We are progressing as a nation that loves the world’s game and it’s showing by the supporters groups that are created for a club at any level.

Progress continues to build for the game and progress has been shown on different levels within our leagues and for the US Open Cup. In 2014 we will celebrate 100 Years of the US Open Cup and to avoid qualifiers to return, I would suggest adding a 5^th round next season to make this cup competition more exciting than it already has been for the last several years.

Tuesday, January 15th 8PM EST – 5PM PST

Guests: Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer & Tropigol .com on the Soccer Night in Newtown, CT.

Derek Richey of The straight red card internet show discussing NASL in Indianapolis

Replaying my Eric Wynalda Interview from this past summer

For those of you that were lucky to catch the 60 Minutes show on Sunday, January 6^th about the entire set up of FC Barcelona, I can definitely say that it lived up to all expectations. The access that CBS was given was absolutely stupendous.

I think it’s very easy to see why Barcelona is arguably the best club in football/soccer. To see their academy teaching the up-and-coming children on the values of life, society, as well as the game itself it just blows your mind.

Seeing an eight year old do the same tricks like Lionel Messi has done for the last several years makes you shake your head. It was awesome to learn that teammates from the same year in the Catalonian Club’s La Masia academy like Gerard Pique and Cese Fabregas are now teammates for the first team.

The interviewer walked up the steps towards the upper deck of the Camp Nou.  To then see everyone hold up a sign and sing the club’s anthem after the music died down was a once in a lifetime experience, even for the television viewer. To see the locker room of Barcelona was breathtaking, as well as those who wore a number from the past has their names above the current holders.

If you thought this was just a football club then sadly you were very mistaken. Yes the club is a way of life in the city and the players are still humble as they put on their Blaugrana jerseys to get ready for battle. But one thing that sets them above the rest is this simple fact – they can mold different players and continue to make them one big club for all.

This is not to say that other clubs around the globe are not equal to Barcelona. But after witnessing the sights brought forth by this 60 Minutes piece, it literally blows your mind away. But with that said, the questions that emerge point towards MLS. What can the youth academies from MLS clubs and other independent American clubs cull to better prepare our players for the future?

While there are some improvements being made, I can definitely say it’s not at the level of what Barcelona has done or have been doing. But the one thing I believe is that time is on our side here in the States. There will be plenty of time to make these improvements in our players, but the main question is who will have the patience to get to that level?

While this league and our players continue to improve year in and year out, the one thing that does stick in my mind is this: getting to the level that Barcelona occupies will take a lot more time than within a twenty year span. A lot of hard work and dedication to the American game is needed to reach that level – perhaps even past my time.

But once again it was just so fascinating to see an eight year old in the Barcelona Academy perform in a pickup game or in a structured scrimmage similar technical skills to Lionel Messi. Our challenge is developing our youth to meet their full potential – and maybe someday cultivate the next Lionel Messi right here on American soil.

Blatter Is Not Satisfied

The question of the popularity of soccer in this country has been brought up a lot over the eighteen years of Major League Soccer’s existence. When it comes to the popularity of the world’s favorite game, questions always land here in the United States. We know that the top sports leagues in this country from a popularity standpoint have been the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, NCAA Football and Major League Baseball. There has been plenty of time for American Soccer to grow, but someone wants it to be top sport of our land – and it sounds like he wants it yesterday. That person is Sepp.

In an Al-Jazeera interview embedded in the above-linked article, Blatter was published saying the following: “It is a question of time, I thought — we had the World Cup in 1994, but it is now 18 years in so it should have been done now. But they are still struggling.” 

There has been tremendous growth from the people who support the game and in Major League Soccer. We are only four stadiums shy of having all nineteen sides playing in their own facilities (in 2014, that will drop to three with the opening of the new San Jose park).

We should also point out that American players who got their start in Major League Soccer are also being respected abroad like never before. We know goalkeepers like Brad Friedel, Kasey Keller, and Tim Howard have been coveted by European clubs, but we’re starting to see more attacking players gain credibility overseas. Clint Dempsey features at Tottenham, a team that finished in the EPL’s Top 4 last season. Jozy Altidore is in the top 5 of goalscorers at Dutch club AZ Alkmaar. And Michael Bradley has moved to A.S. Roma, one of the top sides in Italy’s Serie A, after an impressive stint at Chievo last season.

But all of that doesn’t register with the “great” President from the House of Football. He is trying to force this “growth” down our throats. The popularity of football in the USA hasn’t met his lofty goals. Once again, he needs a bit of an education to understand certain things.

At the time there were two professional leagues before MLS came around: the United Soccer Leagues (formerly known as the U.S.I.S.L.) and the A-League. When those two sides merged to become the USL in 1996 and officially managed the lower levels as MLS is now the top tier in US Soccer.

Then a reshuffling occurred at the lower levels in 2011, as the North American Soccer League (NASL) was reborn as a USSF-sanctioned D2 league. USL continued to operate at the D3 level with USL-Pro, and also oversaw the amateur sides of the Premier Developmental League (PDL).

That has strengthened MLS. While there is no promotion and relegation, there has been steady expansion after a dark period in the early 2000’s when the contraction of Miami and Tampa Bay occurred. The Pacific Northwest made solid contributions with the Sounders in 2009 and Timbers in 2011. With teams coming over from Canada true expansion sides (Toronto F.C) or clubs that have been in the lower leagues making the leap via financial promotion (Vancouver & Montreal), the league is at a solid 19 teams and still looking to add. This should show Blatter that the Pyramid in the US is getting better. 

But it really bothers you when Blatter makes a quote like the one above without fact or without actually making a trip to the US outside of a CONCACAF Gold Cup Final. Blatter wanted to see soccer dominate the American sports landscape by this point. While he’s welcome to have that desire, it’s nearly an impossible task in a mere 18 years since the ’94 World Cup – especially given the crowded landscape.

Are we struggling here in MLS? Maybe there are times. It’s not a positive thing when a stadium is half full. That shouldn’t mean the top tier has failed, , especially when attendance can be an issue for many teams in other American sports. It also doesn’t mean that MLS is not a strong professional league. We can always question some of the directions they have taken, but MLS has succeeded.

The country has accepted the world’s favorite game, but instead of pointing the finger at MLS and US Soccer, most of the blame should fall to the mainstream sports media. Those are the people who have truly failed the sport. They refuse to give credence to the sport, outside of the once-every-four-years World Cup. Even when the U.S. has qualified for several tournaments in a row, the big networks seem to lack enthusiasm towards the cause.

Not only that, it’s the stodgy editors of certain newspapers or stuck-in-the-mud producers of sports talk radio in many markets that give soccer the silent treatment. And that’s at best; if they do bring it up, it is often to lampoon it with all the typical stereotypes we’ve heard for many years.

We have spoken, and we know that our voices are being heard. Slowly but surely this game will be on the lips and fingertips of the mainstream sports media and there will be nothing they can do to stop it. It’s only a matter of time.

Feuerstein’s Fire #129 Thursday, December 13th 8PM EST – 5PM PST

Guests: Patrick Quinn Covering the Colorado Rapids

Daniel Robertson of Big D Soccer talking FC Dallas

Cesar Diaz of Latino Sports covering the New York Cosmos in 2013 NASL Fall Season

John Sandate covering CD Chivas-USA

MLS Cup Final Review Show

Guests: Warren Jones Houston Dynamo Supporter

Adam Serrano of the LA Galaxy Insider

Ben Knight of Onward Soccer discussing Kevin Payne

Cliff Alejos reviewing Orlando City Season in USL Pro

But after what looked to be a fantastic first half for the Dynamo, buoyed by a Calen Carr tally, you thought the great sendoff was going to be erased. But once again the Galaxy showed why they are the defending MLS Cup champions as they showed their metal.

Two goals in a span of five minutes for the Galaxy were converted after a knee knock by Omar Gonzalez accidentally got the back of Carr’s left knee. This forced Houston’s most active player out of the match and the comeback was on. A perfect cross from Juninho on the continuation from a corner found Gonzalez by the far post. His solid header leveled the match at one a piece in the 60^th minute.

It was a shame for Tally Hall who couldn’t keep that chance out of the net, because on the moment before that he stopped a corner by David Beckham curling inside that same far post. But in the 65^th minute the momentum had changed forever as the Galaxy kept on taking shots at the Dynamo net till referee of the year Silviu Petrescu pointed towards the spot.

Ricardo Clark was helping Hall defend the net and when the rebound chance was shot right at him, the ball struck his right arm and the Galaxy were about to take the lead. On replay it looked like the ball hit his side then struck his arm, but never the less it was a penalty. Landon Donovan took the spot kick and converted for the lead.

The Dynamo threw everything and the kitchen sink at Josh Saunders to try and level the score again, but this time there would be no equalizer coming and the final goal of the match came from the spot again as Robbie Keane was fouled in second half stoppage time by Tally Hall.

Keane converted the third goal of the final and then Bruce Arena decided to sub out David Beckham who had a standing ovation from the Los Angeles Galaxy crowd. After the final whistle blew the Galaxy won their second consecutive title and their fourth in club history tying DC United for most MLS Cup in league history.

While it showed that the Dynamo wasn’t the same when Brad Davis couldn’t play in last year’s final due to injury, somehow the injury to Calen Carr took the wind out of the Dynamo’s sails in the second half and the Galaxy took advantage.

But as we know that David Beckham will ride off into the sunset, what will be of Landon Donovan? Will this also be the end of his career or maybe he just needs a full two months off to recharge the batteries and get back into the swing of things for 2013?

For now we don’t know, but what we do know is that the Galaxy had a bad start, a decent middle and a fantastic finish to the 2012 season of Major League Soccer.

Now the Major League Soccer season has come to an end, you can still enjoy soccer at Betfair online casino on their great soccer games – Penalty Shoot Out and Football Rules.

Tuesday, November 18th 8PM EDT – 5PM PDT

Guests:

Warren Jones, Houston Dynamo Supporter

Robert Hay Jr., MLS Talk DC Correspondent

Adam Serrano, LA Galaxy Insider

Dave Clark, Sounder At Heart Blog

Feuerstein’s Fire #125: MLS Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg Review

Tuesday, November 13th 8PM EDT – 5PM PDT

Guests with clubs in the semi-final round

USA At Russia Friendly Post Game Show

Wednesday, November 14th Noon EDT – 9AM PDT

From soccernightexclusive

That terminology is known as “That’s Just So Metro”.

Once again, either as the MetroStars or the New York Red Bulls, a late goal has stung them hard in the rear, and they will be forced to head back to the drawing board to try again in 2013. It was Nick DeLeon in the 88^th minute, fed through by Robbie Russell, who beat Luis Robles for the 2-1 aggregate winner.

Everything was going the Red Bulls’ way in the match, as they were creating many chances on DC United. You felt a goal was coming for the home side. Three chances came in the 28^th minute that were saved by Bill Hamid, then what might have looked to be a hand ball in the area was actually off the chest of another defender, then wide of the far post.

But it appeared to get even better for New York as fate turned in the 69^th minute. Kenny Cooper was past the DC backline by Dax McCarty and was on a breakaway. Just as he entered the area, Hamid dove in front of Cooper and took him down. Referee Mark Geiger called the penalty and showed the red card to the goalkeeper to put DC down to ten men.

From that point forward, fate turned against the Red Bulls. Joe Willis, subbed in for Branko Boskovic, immediately was called to defend the penalty for DC. Cooper stepped up and buried the spot kick to take a lead. Immediately Geiger waved it off. On replay you saw Thierry Henry entering the area just as Cooper was half way to the spot. Cooper’s retake was thwarted by Willis, who made the diving save to his left in the 73^rd minute to keep the score knotted.

Not much later, New York would lose their man advantage on the pitch. Rafa Marquez, already playing with a yellow card, was booked again for a lunging, studs up challenge on Chris Pontius. That put both sides to ten men for the remainder of the match.

After DC United took the lead, the 4^th official showed four minutes of second half stoppage time. During that period, a puzzling moment occurred after a direct free kick was awarded to NY. Just outside of the DC area, you saw Thierry Henry sizing up the chance. Out of nowhere Roy Miller, who was subbed in, took the free kick and skied it well over the crossbar.

After Geiger blew his whistle, the reality set in, and once again playoff futility has crept in and stung this side hard. In three playoff matches at Red Bull Arena, all were losses. For the second straight season it was a one goal loss and now it looks like Backe might be done as head coach.

Sadly it’s another early entrance to the offseason and who knows what changes will be made with the coaching staff or the current roster. Sadly for this side, another promising season of MLS Cup aspirations has found a way to leave the fans disappointed.

But once again it’s showed that Ben Olsen can will his team to victory. He takes this rivalry to heart. After the disappointment of postponing the match on Wednesday night, Olsen urged his team on yet again to find a way to defeat New York and end their season early.

Feuerstein’s Fire #123 Tuesday, November 6th 8PM EST – 5PM PST

MLS Cup Playoffs 1st Leg QF Review Show

With the pundits of those sides in the playoffs

RBNY Vs DC United 2nd Leg QF Review Show

Thursday, November 8th 8PM EST – 5PM PST

The damage that super Hurricane Sandy has done to the North East has been incredible. With winds blowing at or over 90 MPH, the devastation it left in its wake has been unthinkable. Seeing many towns from Maryland all the way up to New York City and Long Island losing homes, then into New England is a sad moment.

Everything being shutdown including the Subway trains in lower Manhattan and the PATH system with the tunnels flooded with sea water will make it impossible to get to Red Bull Arena, as the power has been shut down within the Harrison/Newark area since late Monday afternoon.

Thankfully the stadium only suffered minor damage as rumors spread around Twitter that the winds destroyed the roof and the field was flooded. Those rumors were false, as new general manager Jerome de Bontin announced that everything is in good shape and is ready for play.

But sadly the power will not return until Monday, November 5^th, meaning that the Red Bulls would have to find a suitable change in venue because DC United finished second and will host the second leg as the Red Bulls would play the first leg. Met Life Stadium was a thought, but the New York Giants in the NFL were already scheduled to host the Pittsburgh Steelers late on Sunday afternoon. I started to think that Yankee Stadium could have been a good replacement venue, but DC United’s president Kevin Payne made the hardest decision ever.

Both DC United and the New York Red Bulls have come to a decision to switch their hosting dates. So Saturday, November 3 will see the first leg be played at RFK Stadium. The return leg will occur on Wednesday, November 7^th at Red Bull Arena when the power should be back.

This idea was originally asked by Washington Post Reporter Steven Goff and the answer from Payne was no and he has every right to say no because DC United earned their second place finish in the Eastern Conference standings. I have to say this was a brave move to make the switch, and win or lose Kevin Payne should get a handshake and a thank you for making this switch.

Make no mistake when I say this is a bitter rivalry since the league’s conception in 1996, that the DC United-MetroStars/RBNY rivalry has been a hard fought tussle for a long time. I don’t blame DC United for holding off this type of move till the last moment, but once again MLS has a tight window with their playoff scheduling and something had to be done.

Obviously NBC Sports Network who will be broadcasting the match won’t make a big problem out of it as they will have both legs in this round, but still it would be nice to have Red Bull Arena lit up and fully functional so we can take a break from the after effects of Hurricane Sandy.

My Guests:

Hosea Cheung of 24 hours Vancouver Newspaper talking about the Whitecaps

MLS Talk Writer Robert Hay Jr. talking about DC United

NASL Segment: Dir. of Communications Kartik Krishnaiyer talks Soccer Bowl 2nd Leg

and champion Tampa Bay Rowdies

Red Bulls Hour: Recapping the three goal clean sheet victory over the Philadelphia Union and previewing Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against DC United

Friday, October 26th 8PM EDT – 5PM PDT

Reviewing games involving Houston, Real Salt Lake, Los Angeles, Toronto FC & Seattle

Nielsen, from 96.5 The Buzz.com

On a cool and clear evening in the Northeast, the two most talented sides in the Eastern Conference were facing each other. One was trying to climb the standings, while the other wanting to clinch home field advantage throughout the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Tonight was the final regular season home match for the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena, and if you thought a scoreless draw was boring you needed to watch what was going on at Harrison, NJ. From the first minute till the last the Red Bulls had plenty of chances to convert at least up to four or five goals, but only one man was able to prevent them from getting on the score sheet and it was Jimmy Nielsen.

No matter who had the best chance on the offensive side of the ball, Nielsen came up big and was a brick wall for Sporting Kansas City. He put himself in perfect position every single time the Red Bulls had a shot on goal. There’s little denying that Nielsen should win Goalkeeper of the Year in MLS.

“If you look at us going to the US Open Cup and winning it and all season long being at the top of the Eastern table, he’s a big reason for it,” said Head Coach Peter Vermes, “We made him Captain this season and he has become a tremendous leader. I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out but he has 15 to 16 shutouts this year.”

But when you talk about tonight’s performance from the Red Bulls, it looks like they have cured themselves of coughing up the first goal within the first fifteen minutes of the match. They played strong and never allowed themselves to get behind at all.

Luis Robles had no problems tonight till the 85^th minute, when Kei Kamara tried to head in a cross and it went right to Robles. The former Karlsruher man pushed the ball away from his left and it was cleared by Connor Lade. But overall it was a performance that pleased Hans Backe as a prelude to heading down to Philadelphia for one final derby of the regular season.

“It’s definitely one of the better games we have played, over 90 minutes that was intense. A lot of energy (with) many, many chances to score, we should’ve won the game,” said Backe, “So one of the few games you can be pleased about it being 0-0, but I’m pleased with the performance.”

Before the match got underway there was a moment of applause for slain Red Bulls youth coach Mike Jones. A native of Liverpool, England, Mr. Jones was coaching for West Harrison in Westchester County, New York. After a long night out in the city he was leaving a bar near Union Square when his attacker stabbed him, cut his throat, and sliced his left ear off.

At the moment the man who did this horrible deed has fled to Mexico where he is in hiding. A taskforce of the NYPD is being helped by Mexican police authorities to search for him and to bring him back to face justice for his crimes.

2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Pre & Post Game Shows: USA Vs Guatemala

Tuesday, October 16th Pre-Game 6:30PM EDT – 3:30PM PDT, Post Game 9PM EDT – 6PM PDT

Guest: Fellow MLS Talk Writer Earl Reed

World Cup Qualifying Preview show

Guests: Duane Rollins of the 24th Minute Blog discussing Canada’s last two games

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer & Tropigol to discuss the USA’s last two games

NASL Segment: Re-Capping the First Leg Semi-Final Games

Red Bull Hour: Discussing the new General Manager Jerome de Bontin & Re-Capping the two goal loss at home against Chicago

2014 World Cup Qualifying show

USA At Antigua & Barbuda Friday, October 12th

Guest: Earl Reed fellow MLS Talk Writer

Pre-Game 6:30PM 30 Minutes

Post Game 9:00PM 60 Minutes

Daniel will be broadcasting live from the Football Factory in Legends at New York City

MacDonald, from his West Bromwich days.

On a fantastic Saturday Afternoon at Red Bull Arena, with beautiful, mild weather in the forecast, over 21,000 in attendance came expecting to see the Red Bulls make another win at their fortress. But for a second time this season, the Chicago Fire came to Red Bull Arena wanting to make a statement after they were embarrassed at home mid-week by the Philadelphia Union. Second place was on the line and the Fire burned the Red Bulls where it mattered.

Sherjill MacDonald came up big when he had to, and he punished New York with two fantastic goals that took the energy out of the crowd. A well placed pass by Chris Rolfe sprung MacDonald who was kept onside by Heath Pearce in the 65^th minute. Even though Luis Robles cut the angle down, MacDonald still found a way to power the ball past him, converting the chance for a 1-0 lead.

The second goal might have been a question of offside, but looking at the replay MacDonald was on but a shoulder and punished the Red Bulls again. The 78^th minute goal made the backline look out of sync. They were gouged again by another solid pass, this time from Daniel Paladini. MacDonald would slide and shoot the ball at the same time for number two of the afternoon.

After ninety minutes, the Chicago Fire leapt over the Red Bulls and DC United for second place after DC got a late winner at BMO Field in Toronto – they now sit ahead of New York in third place in the Eastern Conference. Things are starting to get interesting very late in the season with the international break coming up quickly.

“We controlled the possession, we had our chances before they scored.” Said Hans Backe, “We closed them down quite okay, of course (they) caught one on the break, and we definitely didn’t take our chances in the first 25 minutes of the second half.”

To be fair the Red Bulls did play well and looked solid on defense in the first half. In fact they didn’t concede an early goal within the first fifteen minutes of the match and showed some strong play after the Fire had possession of the ball in the first five to ten minutes.

The best chance for the Red Bulls in the first half was a good eight yard rip that was headed for the net. Instead of Sean Johnson making the big save, Arne Friedrich came out of nowhere to block the shot. But on this day it was Frank Klopas side that came out victorious.

“We played very well I felt. I felt that the first half we could’ve been better with the ball,” said Klopas. “I thought we had opportunities to play and keep the ball and that’s the one thing we talked about and then we gave up some opportunities through some overall mistakes. But I felt the team played very well, 90 minutes we defended very well as a team.”

And now it’s time to look ahead towards these World Cup Qualifiers and see if the USA can grab one of those two spots from Group A and advance to the Hexagonal for 2013.

As former President of AS Monaco in French Ligue 1, de Bontin was at the Monegasque club from early 2008 until the spring of 2009. He also served as a board member of the club for seven years and chaired their development committee. He is also on the board of the US Soccer Foundation, and is involved in both the investment committee as well as the Player Development Task Force.

Gerard Houllier, who is the new global director of Soccer for all of the clubs affiliated with Red Bull, made the move. It seems that it would put a lot of pressure on current Head Coach Hans Backe to win the MLS Cup title to cap this season. This move is very surprising and at the same time perplexing.

Tuesday, October 2nd 8PM EDT – 5PM PDT

Guests: Acardio Marcuzzi of Lefooteur discussing the Impact’s first season

Lisa Erickson of Center Line Soccer on the Earthquakes magical season

NASL Segment: Brian Quarstad of Inside Minnesota Soccer on the Wild Card Weekend

Red Bulls Hour: Re-Capping the Red Bulls 4-1 win over Toronto FC

But as we have marveled over him with the golazo’s against the Chicago Fire and the Olimpico Goal against the Columbus Crew, Henry can still pass the ball and force opponents to forget about other on the field when they are making an attacking run.

Once again after giving up a an early goal six minutes in to Ryan Johnson and to be fair it was a fantastic rip from thirty-five yards that had no chance of being saved, the Captain of the Red Bulls went to work not just as a scorer, but as a helper.

Seven minutes later he delivered a solid cross into the area and at the right place was Markus Holgersson who headed in the equalizer and got the club on the score sheet. It was a solid flick header that got past Freddy Hall inside the far post.

Kenny Cooper also benefitted from Henry’s brilliance as he scored two on the night to break a two month slump and both chances were brilliant. Lloyd Sam found a breaking Henry and delivered a solid pass, with both Hall and Richard Eckersley concentrating on Henry they forgot all about Cooper and a simple pass and tap in to an empty net gave the club a two goals to one lead.

Sadly for Toronto keystone coppers came into play when Eckersley took out Freddy Hall that allowed Cooper to have the empty net chance. Thankfully Hall was able to stay in the match and finish the full ninety minutes. But as the match kept going and the score line stayed as is, there was a fear of Toronto to pull one back.

That fear was averted when Henry attracted a crowd in the eighty-eighth minute. As soon as substitute Jan Gunnar Solli finds Henry, three to four defenders come at him and he quickly finds Cooper all alone again for the second of the night and third in the match for the Red Bulls.

But just when you think it’s truly over, we get to second half stoppage time when Henry decides to create another fantastic goal. This time it was Cooper paying back Henry into space and as soon as he got to the ball, Henry catches Hall napping and blasts one into the net from distance.

Another MLS player of the week award surely is coming to the Frenchman, but what can you say about this man who has done everything and continues to deliver greatness at every turn? Just continue to soak it in and see him dazzle every single match at home or on the road.

Even though it was an MLS debut for Luis Robles who looked solid and the insertion of former Leeds man Lloyd Sam attacking down the right side of the midfield, Thierry Henry has stolen the headlines once again and maybe this club can make a strong run in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Kamara, from MidwestSportsFans.Com

For the last several games the New York Red Bulls have been conceding early goals within the first fifteen minutes of the match, and many have been wondering when going down early would finally start costing them three points at home.

But whenever that has happened recently the Red Bulls have always found something to get on the scoreboard and take the full three points at home. The win at home on Saturday against the Columbus Crew is one example and the time the Portland Timbers took a two goal early in that first half, the Red Bulls have found a way to equalize late in the first and the match winner in the second.

But this time around for the home side, that problem finally bit them in the rear end. This time against the top of the eastern conference table leaders Sporting Kansas City, the Red Bulls dug their own hole and never got out of it.

Another early goal was allowed in the 12th minute on a free kick just 22yds away from the net Graham Zusi smacks the free kick off the crossbar and the rebound comes back, but Sporting Kansas City was able to get the rebound when Matt Besler finds C.J. Sapong and converts for the first of the match.

But seven minutes later on a corner kick it would be a two goal lead and Sporting wouldn’t look back. Zusi at the far side delivers the ball and an un-marked Kei Kamara who has fantastic leaping ability would out jump Wilman Conde and heads it in past Bill Gaudette inside the far post.

After all of that it would just be defend, defend and defend. The Red Bulls would create some better chances in the second half, but it looked like there was a force field surrounding Jimmy Nielsen as he never had to make a really tough save.

There were at times in the second half that you thought they were going to break thru, but in the end the only moral victory was getting three shots on goal while in a match and a half they mustered nothing against this well oiled machine in Sporting Kansas City.

“Poor marking on two set-plays in the beginning, too many lost fifty-fifty’s when you play against Kansas, too many unforced errors.” Said Head Coach Hans Backe, “It’s a tough one to go down like that, but it was a better second half. We created a decent number of chances but couldn’t really hurt them. They were the better team today.”

And what did Peter Vermes do to get his players ready for a big match? Execute a perfect game plan. “The way I look at it is, we came from the opening whistle, we came here to play. We weren’t going to sit and drop 11 guys in a 30 yard space and just try to play that way. We talked about right from the get go trying to disrupt their rhythm. I think the two goals are well-deserved.”

The biggest game on the Red Bulls schedule and a chance to take over first place in the east has now been taken away from another poor start and a poor performance in the first half. This problem needs to be fixed and fast. That’s why a road trip to New England is next on the list.

Thursday, September 20th 8:00PM EDT – 5:00PM PDT

Re-Capping the two home games against the Columbus Crew and Sporting Kansas City

2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage Week Four Review Show

Friday, September 21st 8:00PM EDT – 5:00PM PDT

Reviewing Houston, Puerto Rico, Los Angeles, Real Salt Lake, Seattle, Mexican Clubs

In the mid-week early afternoon game against the Chicago Fire on July 18th it was the kiss off the inside of the near post and in after a Sebastien LeToux cross that he settled off his chest. This time it would be inside second half stoppage time that got the 17,000 plus standing in amazement.

To be honest, it’s a little hard to describe it but it was a brilliant goal. In Latin American soccer it is referred to as gol Olimpico as an homage to the first time such a goal was scored.  Red Bulls earned a corner and the ball was placed at the far side. Matt Lampson – who had come in for an injured Andy Gruenebaum – was cheating off his line and Henry saw it. It was a hard turn and shot that floated towards the inside of the near post and softly banks it inside the net.

This is one of those amazing games when you can’t believe what you have just seen from a man who is never afraid to try anything and pulls off another miracle goal that finds a way to go in. And such creativity was needed as the Red Bulls went down early from a goal in the third minute from Milovan Mirosevic.  Rafa Marquez, making his return from the calf injury, sent a long ball from a few yards off the midfield stripe towards Henry in the ninth minute.  Henry stayed onside as he settled the ball and quickly scored past Andy Gruenebaum to level the score.

All match long both sides were trading blows and you had a feeling the next goal was going to come from someone during a set piece. The Red Bulls earned a corner at the near side of the field in the 79th minute and the home team’s captain delivered a solid cross to the Columbus area.

Dax McCarty got into a good position within the scrum and found a way to head the ball softly inside the far post and high enough to avoid Gruenebaum’s gloves to get the go-ahead goal. The Red Bulls would take the full three points once again, but there was some concern for the starting Crew keeper.

Just as Grunenbaum made a dive and stretching attempt for the save, sadly he hits his head inside the far post and was down for a good while. On the monitor Gruenebaum looked to have been cut along the left side of his face near his forehead and was subbed out by backup keeper Lampson in the 85th minute. Thankfully for Gruenebaum he was able to walk off with some help from the medical trainer.

What we saw was a well fought match as both sides gave their all on the field. For the Red Bulls they are now two points behind the Eastern Conference top dogs in Sporting Kansas City, who conveniently will make their appearance this Wednesday night at Red Bull arena.

2014 World Cup Qualifying USA Vs Jamaica Pre & Post Game Shows

Tuesday, September 11th Pre-Game 30 Minutes 7:30PM EDT – 4:30PM PDT

Post Game 10PM EDT – 7PM PDT 60 Minutes

Guests: Blake Compton of the Hudson Street Hooligans discusses the Crew’s new acqusitions

Steven Lenhart of the Timbers Army discusses the new hire for 2013 Caleb Porter

NASL Segment: Re-Capping the Weekend of Games

Red Bulls Hour: Re-Capping the Two Goal Drawa Away At DC United

2014 FIFA World Cup CONCACAF Qualifying

Friday, September 7th USA At Jamaica

I will be broadcasting from The Football Factory at Legends in NYC

First match to be broadcasted on BeInSportUSA

With Fellow MLS Talk Writers Earl Reed & Robert Hay Jr.

Pre-Game at 7:30PM EDT – 4:30PM PDT 30 Minutes

Post Game at 10PM EDT – 7:00PM PDT 60 Minutes

There were three giant screens all over the area showing the match with several party tents that had a giant beer station, another tent to get food, FIFA 12 on Play Station 2, Soccer Tennis and a lot of room to sit on the ground or stand up with your buddies to watch the match.

Lindpere Fan Hangs Out At The Party

Oh I guess I forgot to mention that this watch party was outdoors. Along the Pier A Park along the Hudson River and near the Hoboken train terminal, you had a great view of the west side of Manhattan and just to the south is the new Freedom Tower on the site of the World Trade Center.

It was a beautiful clear night and the lights on the other side of the Hudson were clear to see, so was the match on all three screens as you saw the action in this important tilt in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer. This was a fantastic idea that I think should happen with every club.

Both sides traded goals in each half and while the Red Bulls fans were cringing when Dwayne DeRosario scored his 100th career goal (with a little help from Bill Gaudette who ran away from his line again) to the super strike by defender Wilman Conde that sent the fans into a frenzy running all over the place.

While the two goal draw was a good result on the road for the Red Bulls, I can tell you that the watch party was a clear success for the club and they should do this again next season. But while I agree that they should return to Hoboken, they should actually have two watch parties a season.

If the 2013 schedule favors the club and there is a certain jumbo tron or two in New York City sponsored by NBC or ESPN, then the first watch party should be in Times Square as some of the roads have been blocked off from traffic. If a Red Bulls road game is on those two Networks then there is an advantage.

That’s right; two watch parties in the same season with one in the heart of NYC and the other along the Hudson. Or maybe that special floating park pier on Pier 40 directly on the Hudson River that would be a fantastic idea to promote the game and the league inside Manhattan.

These open air watch parties are a great way to bring people together and to have some fun at the same time. I really hope that the club can do this again next year and the other clubs from within the league can do this as well. It was a fabulous time and all I can say is well done Red Bull, well done.

Kamara, from MidwestSportsFans.Com

This was billed as the big match up in the Eastern Conference as number one Sporting KC and number two New York Red Bulls were ready to do battle in the Midwest, as the first round of three was at Livestrong Sporting Park. And it would start in favor of Kansas City within the first five minutes of the match.

It looked harmless enough as a ball was sent by Graham Zusi from the midfield to spring Teal Bunbury at the New York area. The defenders looked to be in a good position to try and stop the attack yet Bill Gaudette came off his line and ran outside the top of the area and allowed a free shot.

It was some quick thinking by Bunbury to chip the ball towards Kei Kamara who leapt high and headed the ball into an open net for the early lead. Some would say that it was another breakdown by the Red Bulls defense, but to be fair Gaudette intentionally put himself into no man’s land and caused the error.

But what Kamara did for his side in Sporting Kansas City, he would accidentally do it for the Red Bulls. It was a free kick on the near side of the field and Sebastien LeToux would deliver a great ball into the area. Tim Cahill would sneak in to try and disrupt the defenders, but Kamara headed in the ball into his own net.

The match would end in a draw, but there was plenty of hacking and whacking going on from both sides on the field and to be honest you felt that handbags were going to be pulled out at ten paces, but not this time around with first place on the line.

As the match proceeded in the second half it looked as if the Red Bulls might sneak in a second goal and take the full three points as they were held to zero shots on goal. Inside the final four minutes of stoppage time that moment might have become real as LeToux was sprung into a break away.

With two defenders coming back and holding up his run, he got some help from Dax McCarty trailing the play. It was a good ball that got to McCarty but sadly the touch failed him and as he was trying to get the ball back he was knocked down in the area. Grejada wouldn’t even call the penalty as it wasn’t much of a foul

So after a wild night in Kansas City both sides would remain at their places on the Eastern Conference table as Sporting is still at the top, while the Red Bulls are two points behind them. Thierry Henry was unavailable for the Red Bulls as he stayed to keep company with his second child. His wife gave birth to a baby boy in New York City, but Henry will be available with the mid-week game at DC United.

This coming Wednesday and the weekend will be the final games before the international break starts for World Cup Qualifying so get ready for some fun when the USA takes on Jamaica twice in a month.